Counterfeit graphics cards are discovered in Germany

Fake computer components are not a new phenomenon. Many international and strikingly often Asian marketplaces on the internet are a minefield of replicas and scam products. It now appears that counterfeits have also been found at established dealers in Germany.

The German technology magazine Heise C’t Magazin discovers a scam in which the budget model Geforce GT 440 OEM has been rebranded to be sold as the much more lavish Geforce GTX 660. This by changing the name string in the firmware to fool both drivers and system tools.

The graphics card in question comes from the distributor Kosatec Computer and has been sold at several German retailers as “GTX 660 4096MB Nvidia Bulk”. According to Kosatec, these graphics cards must be purchased directly from Point of View, which, however, denies any involvement. Contradictory enough, the counterfeit graphics card is illustrated with a model from Zotac, but neither does this manufacturer want to be known by the product.

The spotlight is now on Nvidia, which has the ability to track the manufacturer through the graphics processor’s serial number. Although Heise informed about the fraud and also shared the serial number, Nvidia has not commented on what happened.